• The waiver portion of trade season has come to a close. Players can still clear waivers and be traded in September but they will not be eligible to be a part of the potential playoff rosters of their new teams. And while most of August wasn’t so exciting there were a flurry of moves to close out the month. The Indians acquired 3B Josh Donaldson from Toronto (allowing them to move Jose Ramirez to 2B and Jason Kipnis to a utility role). Toronto would also deal OF Curtis Granderson to the Milwaukee Brewers where he’ll likely function as a depth piece for their outfield. The Brewers were busy at the end of August, also acquiring reliever Xavier Cedeno from the Chicago White Sox and starting pitcher Gio Gonzalez from the Washington Nationals. The Nationals weren’t done as they sent reliever Ryan Madson to the Dodgers as well (love that teams made it so easy to just move down a chain for a bit like that). The Braves also made some moves to shore up their bench, picking up 1B Lucas Duda from the Royals and C Rene Rivera from the Angels. And finally to round off the big trades of the month, the Giants sent outfielder Andrew McCutchen to the New York Yankees, undoubtedly allowing them to better compensate for the absence of slugger Aaron Judge for the rest of the season.

• While some bodies are moving, others are finished up for the season. Angels DH Albert Pujols and Orioles OF/DH Mark Trumbo are both done for the season with knee injuries that require surgery. Buster Posey of the Giants is also finished for the year and in need of hip surgery that may affect him into the start of spring training. Donaldson is also still on the DL but rehabbing from his shoulder and calf injuries so he won’t join the Indians roster right away.

• The Padres made a move to improve themselves despite likely being on the outside looking in on the post-season, promoting infield prospect Luis Urias to the majors. Various players have tried their hands at covering 2B for the Padres this season and none have hit well enough to justify holding onto their job. Urias is considered the crown jewel of the Padres prospect system, and the #22 overall prospect in MLB. He doesn’t hit for a lot of power (yet) but he’s consistently batted over .300 with an excellent ability to draw walks. No doubt the Padres seem him as an important part of their lineup for years to come.

• If you want a good laugh, may I direct you to this story about Atlanta Braves organist Matthew Kaminski. Kaminski has a history of using his instrument to trolling opposing players. So on the heels of newly acquired Cub Daniel Murphy reiterating his opposition to the “gay lifestyle” Kaminski had a few appropriate musical selections for Murphy’s at bats. There’s a video in that link.

• Anyone have any thoughts on the various MLB award races? There’s a couple that seem like no-brainers (I’m looking at the AL/NL RoY races in particular) but the MVP races are a tough call at this moment in my opinion. Thoughts?